The invention is directed to a printer or copier system as well as to a method for filling a container with consumables, a method for multiple employment of such a container in at least one printer or copier device, a well as to a method for encoding the container. The invention is particularly directed to a method for the operation of an electrographic printer or copier device as well as to such a printer or copier device. The invention is also directed to a printer or copier system that comprises an electrographic printer or copier device as well as a filling station for filling, as well as a filling station for filling containers with electrographic consumables.
WO-A-96/02872 (PCT/DE 95/00635) discloses an electrophotographic means for both-sided printing of a band-shaped, narrow recording medium and for single-sided printing of one broad recording medium or a plurality of parallel, narrow recording media.
High-performance printers of this type are often employed for printing out data in computer centers. These data can, for example, be invoices or other individualized printouts, for example individualized advertising. There is thereby the more and more frequent demand to print printing jobs in multi-colored fashion. With modularly constructed printers, it is therefore possible to keep a plurality of developer stations suitable for chromatic printing operation available, these being respectively provided for printing out in different colors. DE 195 40 138 C1, for example, discloses a developer station that can be inserted into the corresponding printer as needed given the existence of a multi-colored printing job and can be interchanged with the one-color developer station. A uniform, performance-matched traffic load of printer parks in printer centers thus derives.
When individual components such as developer stations are to be changed given the existence of different printing jobs, then this procedure must be monitored in order to assure a uniformly good print quality as well as allocation errors between the color required in the printing job and the color that is actually developed.
Added thereto is that different types of toner are being increasingly utilized in electrographic printers. Even given single-color printing jobs, different types of toner are utilized for different applications. Since these types of toner generally have different physical properties, the printing machine must be driven with different process parameters in order to keep the printing quality at a high level. For this purpose, it is necessary that the control of the printer automatically recognizes what type of toner is currently in the apparatus.
When print jobs are printed in different colors, then the additional demand arises that different-colored toner that must be stored in reservoirs of the printer must be allocated to the correct toner conveying systems for the respectively correct developer stations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,853 discloses an electrophotographic printer having a plurality of chromatic developer stations, whereby IC cards are attached to the developer stations wherein process-relevant information for the printer control are made available. U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,388 and JP-A-4-338990 disclose process cartridges for toner on which toner-related information are applied with bar code stickers. JP-A-1-3683 discloses a toner container to which a magnetic strip is applied. Particulars about the toner contained in the container are stored on the magnetic strip.
JP-A-10-161411 discloses that a semiconductor memory element on which information about the toner contained in the container are stored be attached to a toner container. The toner data can thereby be transmitted in non-contacting fashion. JP-A-10-221938 discloses a corresponding toner container wherein data can be transmitted in non-contacting fashion into a data memory with antennas.
Given printers or, pre-devices that are based on different recording principles, for example given ink jet printers, it is also definitely necessary that device parameters be set dependent on the consumables, for example the temperature of the ink given bubble jet printers or the voltage of deflection electrodes given printers that work with a continuous ink flow according to the Paillard principle.
Corresponding to the high printing performance, the toner consumption in electrographic high-performance printing units is also high. The toner is thereby stored in containers that are introduced into the electrophotographic printer or copier devices. When a developer station is replaced, then the toner matching the new developer station must also be delivered within the copier device.
An object of a first aspect of the invention is to assure the correct delivery of consumables in printer and copier devices in order to be able to process consumables of different types in the devices.
According to the present invention, a method is provided for encoding a container for receiving consumables of electrographic printer or copier devices wherein consumable-specific data are applied in encoded fashion in machine-readable form on the container with an information carrier. Preferably the information carrier comprises an electronic circuit, preferably a transponder, that can be read and written in non-contacting fashion. A read station may be provided with which data and energy can be exchanged with the transponder in non-contacting fashion for writing and/or reading the information stored on the transponder. A system is also provided for practicing the method in a printer or copier device.
Inventively, a container that is capable of accepting consumables, particularly toner for electrographic printer or copier devices, is provided with machine-readable information with a suitable information carrier or, respectively, is encoded in machine-readable form. In particular, the information comprise data about the nature of the consumables located in the container such as, for example, toner recipes for printers or copier devices that work according to the electrographic principle. What is thereby particularly understood is electrophotography but, for example, magnetography and other electrostatic recording methods as well.
The inventive solution also creates a recycling concept with which containers for consumables of printer or copier devices can be multiply employed, namely both in one and the same printer or copier device as well as in different devices. In particular, the devices are of an electrographic type. What is achieved in conformity with this second aspect of the invention is that not only can fresh consumables such as toner be stored in the container but, for example, used mixtures such as toner-developer mixtures, that are composed of toner and magnetizable carrier particles can also be stored therein. The consumables can be solid, powdered or liquid.
The transport of the consumable, particularly of the substance, is completely monitored in a closed system as a result of the invention, and the transport of the substance can be tracked from delivery up to printing within the printer or copier device, and the information attached to the container can be electronically machine-read and be employed for controlling parameters of the printing process.
As a result of applying machine-readably encoded, particularly binary information about the consumables currently or most recently located in the container, the necessity of having to input this information by operating personnel of the printer or, respectively, copier is eliminated. Further, one and the same container can be employed for the plurality of purposes as a result thereof, particularly for storing fresh toner but also for waste disposable of unuseable developer mixtures or toner residues.
The invention enables an automatic circulation system, whereby the containers for printing consumables can be fully automatically processed at various stations such as a filling station in the printer or in a cleaning station as well. Additionally, a computer network with a central data bank can be provided in the circulation system, this being described later.
As a result of the machine-readably encoded information about a consumable currently located in the container, in particular, it is possible to assure the proper allocation between supply container as well as connected conveying system for the consumable in a printer or copier device and devices such as a developer station at an electrographic printing station connected thereto. In an advantageous exemplary embodiment for electrographic printer or copier devices, it is provided for this purpose to mechanically rigidly connect the toner conveying channel in a toner conveying system to an electrical encoding line such that an electrical connection between an electrical circuit situated in the container and the developer station is produced when the mechanical connection between toner supply container and allocated developer station that is necessary for toner transport is produced, whereby the information stored in the container about the container is compared in view of suitability for the developer station.
In a further, advantageous exemplary embodiment, a measuring instrument is provided with which the amount of consumables stored in the container can be acquired. By storing the amount of contents in the electronic information store, it can be assured that a supply container that has once been taken is not inadvertently filled with additional, unsuitable consumables, and a malfunction is thus avoided when the container is re-introduced into the same or into a different printer. It is thereby especially advantageous when the quantity value is stored in the information store as soon as the container is removed from the printer or copier device.
Optically visible bar code carriers that display static informationxe2x80x94for example for the type of consumablexe2x80x94or that can both be written as well as erasedxe2x80x94for example, for simple updating of the quantity of consumable contained in the containerxe2x80x94are suitable as information carrier rigidly connected to the container. Further, electrically encodable labels or electrically readable and writable carriers such as magnetic strips, optical data carriers (DVD, re-writable CD-ROMs, Laser-Cards) or EEPROMs (electrical erasable programmable read only memories) and, in particular, transponders are also suitable for this purpose. The data transmission preferably ensues a non-contacting fashion between the information store and a read and/or write station.
In a preferred exemplary embodiment, a transponder is employed as information carrier. Such electronic components usually carry a permanently allocated, individual coding. For example, they are determined as hardware identifier in an area reserved by the transponder manufacturer. The hardware identifier is, in particular, deposited in a PROM region (programmable read only region) of a semiconductor memory. The PROM region can only be written once, particularly by the manufacturer of the transponder, and can only be read but no longer written later. A plurality of PROM regions can also be provided in the transponder, whereof at least one region can only be written once by a user of the transponder, particularly during the course of an initial filling of the toner container with toner, and can then only be read later. By contrast thereto, data can be dynamically stored, erased and/or overwritten in an EEPROM area of the transponder. The data transmission from and to the transponder can ensue a non-contacting fashion with radio frequency transmission. A write/read means is provided for this purpose, this enabling both a data exchange with the transponder as well as supplying energy for supplying the electronic component parts contained in the transponder to the transponder in non-contacting fashion.
In a highly simplified exemplary embodiment of the transponder, a transponder that can be written only once and that can then only be read later can also be employed for some aspects of the invention. Such a transponder comprises only one PROM region and is somewhat more beneficial than a re-writeable transponder in view of the manufacturing costs. It is particularly suitable for the one-time storing of toner data on a toner container filled with tone only once.
By comparing the information deposited on the information carrier to operating information that are stored in the printer or copier device, the possibility then derives of outputting alarm messages at the appertaining device when containers having unsuitable consumables are utilized. When, for example, toner whose manufacturing date has already been exceeded or toner of a color different from that required by the developer station currently inserted in the printer is introduced, then the printing operations can be additionally prevented in order to avoid misprints (Maculature).
According to a further aspect of the invention, a data bank is provided outside the container for electrophotographic consumables wherein the data stored in the container are additionally deposited. In particular, the data bank can contain the current data from a plurality of containers, so that the current values of a great number of containers are always available. To that end, it is particularly advantageous to network the read/write stations of the various, participating container processing stations that process the containers with one another. The advantageous possibility of centrally outputting alarm messages to the printer from the data bank when containers having unsuitable consumables, for example having toner whose manufacturing date has already been exceeded, are inserted then particularly derives for the printer or copier devices that are thereby connected. There is also the possibility of already drawing the attention of computer centers thereto at an early time when, for example, supply containers for consumables that have been acquired and stored for a longer time have reached an end stage or, respectively, their expiration date. Further, there is thus the possibility of individually allocating specific supply containers to a specific printer, a computer center or an operator and of accordingly logistically administering the container pool.
A determination can be made when refilling toner supply containers as to whether the toner gray provided for the filling is chemically and/or optically compatible with the types of toner (or with the various types of toner) previously situated in the toner supply container. Only toner whose hue is darker then the hue (or, respectively, then the hues) of earlier fills is allowed given a refilling, so that a high print quality is assured even when old toner residues were not capable of being completely removed from the toner container during cleaning.
Further effects and advantages of the invention are described below with reference to some exemplary embodiments: